


What we are pt 16

by AXEe



Series: What we are [16]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Project Cadmus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-04 10:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14017857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: It's true what they say: you can't go back home again.    AU of "Homecoming"





	1. Return of the Man

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are folks! The first chapter of the long-awaited Part Sixteen of "What we are"! Please enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you hurting the one you love?  
You say you found heaven  
But you can’t find God  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
Bite your tongue until it tastes like blood

Are you hurting the one you love?  
So many glasses on the tabletop  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
You’d like to stay in heaven but the rules are too tough

\--Florence + the Machine: “Are You Hurting the One You Love?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

I walked into the DEO feeling pretty good about myself

“OK guys!” I said as I marched up the operations table “Supergirl is here and is ready to go!” I grinned “what have you got for me?”

“There is literally, absolutely nothing for you to do” J’onn said

“Yeah,” Alex added “it’s like someone put some sort of chemical in the water supply. Even petty crimes are down”

“Rather boring,” Aunt Astra nodded “but relaxing”

“Come on!” I exclaimed (I did not whine, superheroes don’t whine, thank you very much!) “there must be something we can do”

“Sorry,” J’onn shrugged “but I’ve got a meeting with the DEO’s budget” he said as he left

“New recruit training” Astra said as she left too

“Thursday morning knife practice” Alex added, pointing at Astra

“Well, where’s Lucy?” I wondered

“On a date with your mother” Astra called out as she and Alex disappeared. I looked, noticing that almost everybody else quickly found something to do. Everybody that is, expect Winn, who smiled and gave me a shy little wave. I still didn’t feel comfortable around him, because now every time I looked at him I couldn’t help but see him with my mom _and_ Lucy, all at the same time

“Hey” I said as I came over

“Hey” he nodded

We kind of stared at each other for a few minutes

“Look—” I began 

“I’m sorry—”

We both laughed

“No, you go first” I told him

“Look, I— _we_ , Lucy and I—should have told you about Alura from the beginning,” he stammered “but, everything was so new, and confusing. It took us—all three of us—a lot of time to work things out”

“And did you?” I asked “work things out?”

“Yeah,” he nodded “we did. I love Lucy, but…I’ve got room for Alura too” he explained

I sighed

“Sorry I’ve been such a bitch lately” I mumbled

“No, no, I get it,” he said “I do, really”

“It’s just…I finally got her back, and then…to find our that she’s dating so soon, and dating _two_ people at the same time,” I shook my head “it’s just…a lot to take in,” I said “ _a lot_ to take in”

Winn chuckled

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he nodded, blushing “so…we’re good?” he asked

“We’re good” I nodded

“Good,” Vasquez grumbled “because I was getting tried of his whining” she muttered as she stood up and left

“You know,” Winn began “I think I liked that other version of her from the other Earth,” he muttered

I snorted as his computer suddenly chirped

“Whoa, OK” he leaned forward and started typing

“What is it?” I asked

“Uh, we got a ping” he answered

“A good ping or a bad ping?” I asked

“A Cadmus ping,” he answered as he pulled up a satellite photo of a warehouse “looks like we got activity in a warehouse that the Army raided last month”

“We haven’t heard anything from Cadmus since Lillian Luthor got arrested” I realized

“Until now that is,” J’onn announced as he came over “this just came across my desk,” he held out a piece of paper “massive power failure at Stryker Island, at least three prisoners escaped. Including Lillian Luthor”

“So it is Cadmus” I sighed

“Looks like” J’onn nodded

“Got a truck moving away from the warehouse,” Winn announced “I’ll send you the GPS coordinates,” he said as we turned to leave “hey, you want me to call Astra?” he asked

I shook my head

“No thanks,” I said “I’ve got our other fly guy” I grinned at J’onn…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The truck was a big semi, being escorted by two black SUVs, leaving an old Lord Tech warehouse

“ _ **So,**_ ” J’onn began “ _ **should we ask nicely or just drop in?**_ ”

“Let’s drop in,” I grinned “cover me” I shot forward, barreling towards the truck. As soon I appeared, the two SUVs shot forward, figures in black leaning out of the windows with guns and started shooting at me. I could see the green glow of kryptonite bullets, but thanks to Winn, my suit now has a kryptonite inhibitor built right in.

I dodged the gunfire, ducking under the spray as J’onn suddenly landed in front of one of the SUVs and phased through it, flipping over like a toy. Shooting forward, I landed behind the cab of the semi and tore off the cables and latches holding the trailer to the cab.

Once it was free, I dropped down onto the roadway and tried to hold it still as it screeched along the ground, sparks flying everyway as I dug my heels into the ground.

Looking back, I could see the other SUV had stopped and the four or five troops inside were all getting their butts kicked by J’onn. With a dull _thud_ the trailer suddenly skidded to a stop, but so did the cab.

The drivers' door opened and another figure dropped out, dressed from head to toe in full body armor. He took aim at me, only for a familiar figure to suddenly reach out _through_ the truck as J’onn easily knocked him to the ground

“ _ **Are you all right?**_ ” he asked me as he came over

I nodded

“Yeah,” I panted out “c’mon, let’s see what’s inside this thing,” I said as I tore open the doors of the trailer, freezing at what I saw inside “oh god” I whispered as I stared at the figure dangling from the ceiling of the trailer by his arms. He weakly looked up as he saw us, smirking

“Pity,” he rasped out “I was hoping to see Astra”

“Non” I breathed…


	2. Bring Out Your Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tough  
It’s just too tough  
Tough  
It’s just too tough

Are you hurting the one you love?  
When they watched the walls and the ticking clock  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
And was it something that you could not stop

\--Florence + the Machine: "Are You Hurting the One You Love?"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I charged into Command, Alex quickly following me as I skidded to a stop, watching as Kara and J’onn both carried an injured by alive Non into the infirmary. For a moment, I couldn’t speak and merely stood there, staring. When Winn had told me that Kara and J’onn had found Non, alive, I could scarily believe it. Finally I found my voice

“What’s his condition?” I managed to ask

“We don’t know yet,” Alex answered “I’ll let you know after we examine him” she explained. She reached out and gave my arm a gentle squeeze, letting me know without words that she wouldn’t harm him, I dimly nodded as I approached the gurney where Non lay

“Astra” he nodded at me as I approached

“Non,” I replied. I cleared my throat “they need to examine you,” I explained “find out what your condition is”

He nodded, the movement calm, casual

“Of course” he stated

I gripped his arm

“If you harm any of them,” I began “the horrors of Cadmus and Fort Rozz will be downright _pleasant_ to what I will do to you” I warned

He smirked but said nothing as I stepped back and allowed Alex and the medical team to examine him…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Well?” Astra asked as I stepped out of the isolation lab

“He’s malnourished,” I began “there’s a large amount of scar tissue throughout his entire body. Most of it looks like they… _experimented_ on him at one point” I explained, stamping my urge to gag at the thought. I didn’t like Non, I didn’t trust him, but even then, no one deserved that

“Monsters” Astra spat

“No argument there,” I nodded “but, this,” I held out the MRI scan “…is what really worries me,” I explained as I held out the scan to her “best we can figure is that its some of kind of neural implant,” I explained, pointing to the tiny web-like device that was threaded through Non’s brain “although what it does I have no idea, I was hoping you could tell me”

She shook her head

“I’ve never seen this kind of technology before,” she murmured. She looked up frowning “is it just me, or does this all seem a little…?”

“…too easy,” I nodded “yeah, I thought that too. The same day that Lillian Luthor escapes from prison we find Non? I don’t buy it”

“Can you remove this implant?” she asked, nodding to the scan

“I don’t know,” I admitted “its in there pretty deep, looks like its actually powering itself from the electrical impulses in his brain, and it looks like its wired directly into his cerebral cortex. If I try to take it out now, it could kill him”

She sighed, looking annoyed as J’onn came over

“Any word on Lillian?” I asked

“No,” he shook his head “at the moment, it looks like pure coincidence, the blackout hit most of Hob’s Bay and Lillian saw her opening and took it,” he explained “but,” he added “we all know from past experience that Cadmus has a way of making things look coincidental”

“Agreed” Astra growled

“Hey,”

We looked up as Lucy and Alura hurried in, both dressed to the nines

“We just heard” Lucy continued

“Is it true?” Alura asked

“It is” Astra nodded towards the isolation lab where Non now lay on a gurney. Since, unlike Astra, he was still technically a hostile, he’d been restrained, straps held him down on the gurney, while artificial red sunlight shone down from the ceiling, keeping him from using his powers, even though he didn’t seem to have any interest in escaping or otherwise using his powers.

“Agent Danvers, ma’am?” a nurse leaned out of the iso lab “he wants to speak with you”

I frowned, glancing up at J’onn, who nodded

“Just be careful” he warned

I looked over at Astra, who blinked, looking a little dazed, and then shook her head

“I’ve made my peace with the dead” she said simply as she turned and walked away down the hall…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non looked up as I came into the iso lab, the restraints creaking as he tried to sit up slightly

“Alexandra Danvers,” he chuckled “still alive, I see”

“Disappointed?” I wondered

“On the contrary, I’m pleased that you’re still alive,” he replied “I don’t think Astra could survive if you died” he noted

I pulled a chair over to gurney as close as I dared and sat down

“Probably not,” I agreed. I made it sound light, like a joke, but we both could hear the truth in the words, if something happened to me, Astra wouldn’t be able to handle it; she might even slip back into that madness and insanity that had plagued her when we first met. I shook myself off and turned my attention back to Non

“Why did you help Astra and Alura back at Cadmus?” I asked

Non sighed, chuckling darkly

“To spare them the torments I’d endured since I first awoke there,” he explained. He shook his head “I had no hopes of waking in Rao’s Light, knowing the acts I’ve done, the lives I’ve taken. But, in that place, those people…,” he trailed off, shaking his head “I saved Astra and Alura to spare them even but a fraction of the pain I’d endured” he repeated

“The last time we met you were willing to kill her” I noted

“The last time we met, I was not in my right mind,” he replied. He sat up slightly and awkwardly pulled the hospital gown down off his chest, revealing a large Y-incision across his torso, like the kind you see on cadavers during an autopsy.

He chuckled darkly at my expression

“Nothing like a bit of vivisection to cleanse the mind and soul,” he explained, pulling the gown back up and leaning back against the pillow “I asked you once, back in that desert, to take care of her,” he began. He smirked “I’m glad to see that you have”

“I didn’t do it for _you_ ,” I pointed out “I did it for her. Because she deserves it”

He nodded solemnly

“She does” he agreed

“I need to know,” I began “anything about Cadmus that you can tell me”

He smirked again

“Then ask” he said simply…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Astra?”

I looked up at the voice, watching as Alura cautiously stepped into the room. Ignoring her for the moment, I completed my form and moved onto the next, settling into the familiar movements of _torquasm-vo_ , the ancient Krypton martial arts form that all members of the Military Guild had to learn

“Astra,” Alura insisted “don’t you think you should talk to him?” she suggested

“I have nothing to say to him” I replied

“Astra, he _died_!” she insisted

“He died by _my hand_!!” I roared “I did that! I killed him! Without remorse! Without a second thought! And I would do it again if it meant that Alex’s life hung in the balance!”

Furious, I stormed past her…


	3. Old Friends, New Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter THREE!! Enjoy :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you hurting the one you love?  
Leave them sleeping on a pile of dirt  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
And long for their soul?

\--Florence + the Machine: “Are You Hurting the One You Love?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Are you planning on sulking all night?” I asked

Astra looked up at me, scowling

“I’m not ‘sulking’.” She spat

“Really?” I asked “you cleaned the kitchen twice and just spent ten minutes rearranging the bookcases” I pointed out. She scowled and dropped the dust cloth she was using and stood up and started pacing

“What would you have me say, Alex?” she wondered “hmm? That I feel like someone ripped out my heart? That I wonder if I’m so callous that I would kill my best friend in order to save the life of the woman I love rather than try to save them both?” she demanded “is that what you want me to say?” she demanded, flinging her arms out “is it?!”

I reached out and took her hands, which seemed to calm her down as I eased us both down onto the couch

“I want you to understand that what you did was not your fault,” I began “even Non admits it, he drove you to that point. If anything, death was, for him, was an…escape, a way out,” I sighed “he hasn’t said as much, but…I think he kidnapped me knowing in someway that you’d kill him to get me back, I think he _wanted_ to die, even if he didn’t know it”

She stared at me for a long moment, tears welling up in her eyes

“ _Oh, Alex,_ ” she whispered “what did I _do_?”

“You did what you thought was the best way to save your family,” I reminded her “I’m not going to…hate you for that”

She said nothing, but leaned into me, quietly sobbing into my shoulder as I held her, rubbing circles along her back as she shook and sobbed…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I don’t know how long I remained like that, held in Alex’s arms, sobbing for my broken friendship with Non, but when I finally came back to awareness I found Alex smiling softly down at me as I rested my head in her lap, her fingers gently combing through my hair.

“Hey” she said, whispered softly into the darkened room. Lifting my head, I could see that sun had sunk low into the sky, darkening the room except for a low, rapidly-dimming orange glow that reminded me so much of the light of Rao that I almost wept again. But instead I laid back down next to Alex, absently noticing how dry my throat was all of a sudden

“Could I have some water?” I asked. Nodding, she silently got up and got me a glass of tap water, I inwardly grimaced at the thought of how many pollutants and chemicals were in the water but said nothing and took the offered glass, feeling the cooling sensation ease my dry throat.

Sighing in relief, I leaned back against the couch, closing my eyes as I felt Alex settle down next to me

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly

“No” I answered

“Do...do you want me to call Alura?”

“No” I breathed as I opened my eyes and looked at her, my dear, sweet, loving Alex who deserved far better than me “what would you have done?” I wondered “if our positions had been reversed? Would you have killed him to save me?”

She bit her lip and looked away, her profile pensive

“ _You know I would have_ ” she finally whispered

I sighed, having expected that answer and yet I had hoped for another…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The DEO was oddly quiet when we got in the next morning. Agents shuffled on by with less energy and vigor than normal; there was a general feeling of resignation among the room

Alex and I shared a confused look

“Did we miss something?” Alex wondered

“You did,” Lucy sighed “Non just dropped a bombshell last night”

“What… _kind_ …of bombshell?” Alex asked cautiously

“Apparently, according to him anyway, Cadmus’ latest plan involves a thermal bomb,” Lucy began “using the thermal energy they stole from you,” she gestured to me “when they infected you with Medusa. Apparently they planning on using the stolen energy to fuel a bomb which they’ll use to nuke the city and then pin the blame on an alien terrorist group”

“Charming,” I sighed “I don’t suppose he knows where and when this bombing will take place?” she shook her head “of course not,” I muttered “that would be too easy” I turned, stalking towards the isolation lab where Non had been kept so far. Not bothering with niceties, I marched into the room and assessed him

“Astra” he nodded politely at me as he picked at his food, studying the tuna casserole with great suspicion. Having tried it once, I can assure you that it neither resembles tuna or casserole in either appearance or flavor

“Thermal bomb?” I asked directly

“So I observed” he nodded

“You’re assuming that what you observed was even true,” I pointed out “in my experience, Cadmus has a rather annoying habit of saying one thing and then doing another”

“As do you” he countered

I sighed and reflexively rubbed at my head, feeling a headache coming on

“How are you feeling?” I finally sighed

“Well,” he answered “and in answer to your question, it may be that the information I gave could have been simply implanted into my memories,” he explained “after all, from what your Alex tells me, the implant in my brain is wired directly into my visual and auditory cortex. Cadmus could conceivably make me see or hear whatever they wished me to”

I frowned, feeling myself smirk

“Well, if that’s the case,” I began “then we’ll simply have to play along…”


	4. Breach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! I don't really know how long this one will be. Right now, it's looking like its nearing the end, but who knows. Also, I just realized that I inadvertently skipped over "The Martian Chronicles", but that's OK, I can squeeze it in next Part. For now, enjoy :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you hurting the one you love?  
And if heaven knows, then who else does?  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
You say you got to heaven, but it wasn’t enough

\--Florence + the Machine: “Are You Hurting the One You Love?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“This is very risky, you know that right?” I warned

“If we’re going to get any usable information out of him, we need to do it without Cadmus listening in” Astra nodded

I took a breath as I looked between her and Non

“If this goes wrong,” I began “you could die,” I warned him “you know that, right?”

He scowled, clearly annoyed with what he thought was me procrastinating

“It would be a nice reprieve” he snarled

I rolled my eyes

“All right,” I finally sighed “I’ll get Dr. Hamilton and start prepping the OR”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m not a surgeon. I’ll be the first to admit that. My background’s in bioengineering, I’d be more useful figuring out how the thing that was inside Non’s brain worked rather than actually taking it out. Unfortunately, I’m also the DEO’s best expert on Kryptonian anatomy, which meant that I would be sitting in on the surgery, which by the way, exploratory brain surgery is no walk in the park. One wrong move and the patient is left paralyzed.

If they’re lucky.

“Beginning incision” Dr. Hamilton announced as she took an electric bone saw and began to literally slice Non’s head open. Even creepier? He was still awake. Numbed with a local anesthetic, but still awake

“Vitals stable” I reported

“Is this what passes for ‘state-of-the-art’ medicine for your kind?” Non grumbled as Dr. Hamilton finished opening a three-inch wide _hole_ in the back of his skull

“I can see the object,” Dr. Hamilton announced “looks like it’s wired directly into the brainstem and upper spinal column,” she reported, frowning from under her mask as she straightened up

“Let’s begin. Start the clock…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The surgery took more than twelve hours, the damn thing was threaded throughout Non’s entire brain, every time we thought we got it, we’d find dozens of smaller tendrils branching off from the ones we’d already removed, making up a massive web of metallic tendrils all sprouting from a tiny pea-sized device in the base of his skull, each tendril getting smaller and smaller, down to the microscopic level, the deeper they went.

“So this thing was in his head?” Kara asked as she squinted at the thing under a microscope

“Yep” I sighed as I rubbed my tired and aching neck. I could really used a nice warm bath right about now

“So, what’s it do?” Kara asked as she looked up at me from the microscope

“Not a clue,” I admitted “from the way it was wired into his brain, I’d say it was some kind of control device”

“Like Myriad?”

I shrugged

“Maybe. It was wired directly into his motor cortex,” I muffled a yawn “theoretically, they could have controlled him like a marionette”

“Makes sense,” J’onn rumbled as he came into the lab “a fully-powered Kryptonian would make the perfect foot solder for Cadmus”

“Assuming they found a way to control him” I pointed out as he leaned over the microscope and examined the thing

“Is there anyway we can use this device to track down Cadmus?” he asked

“First I have to figure out _what_ it actually _does_ ,” I pointed out “and then make sure that it won’t blow up in my face”

“What about what Non said about that bomb?” Kara wondered “did that go anywhere?”

“So far we’re scanning the city block by block, nothing concrete yet,” J’onn explained “we got a few hits here and there, but they’re all too small or too brief to be conclusive”

“A trail of breadcrumbs then?”

We looked up to see Alura standing in the doorway

“What do you mean?” I asked as she came in

“Well, far be it from me to assume how Cadmus thinks,” she began “but it seems logical that they would…‘tease’ us with false information, dangling the proverbial vegetable in our faces”

“Carrot, Mom,” Kara giggled “its _‘dangling a carrot’_.”

Alura blushed rather prettily

“Whatever,” she dismissed “my point remains the same. They could have us hunting for this bomb for days, months even, and all the while—”

“…they’re free to carry out their real plan” I sighed

“Where’s Non now?” J’onn asked

“Resting in the infirmary,” I answered “Astra’s playing nursemaid last I saw”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“So, what will you do now?” I wondered. Non turned to stare at me from his place on the gurney, bandages still wrapped around his head, smirking as he did so

“I would have thought that would be obvious,” he began “remain in a cell”

“Not necessarily” I countered

He scoffed

“Your time with the Humans has made you naïve and forgetful,” he scowled “I kidnapped one their agents—two actually—conspired to dishonor the agreement when they exchanged you for the life of Hank Henshaw, and willfully committed murder. I would be extremely lucky if they did not execute me”

“No one is beyond redemption” I reminded him

“And who told you _that_ pearl of wisdom?” he scoffed “your precious Alex?”

“My sister”

“Alura is _dead_ , Astra”

“No. She isn’t,” 

Turning, I looked up to see Alura standing in the doorway, Alex and Kara flanking her almost protectively “she’s just as alive as you” Alex continued

“So,” Non breathed as she came into the room, Alex and Kara following “you survived”

“I did,” Alura nodded “as did you” she noted

“Come to brand me a terrorist again, Alura Zor-El?” he smirked

“Non…” I warned

“Should I?” Alura countered “your sister unleashed Myriad upon this city, killed at least two people and then tried to exterminate the entire Human race”

“ _Adopted_ sister,” Non countered “Faora was of my House, but not of my blood”

“Semantics,” Alura dismissed “in fact, one could even argue that it was not ‘you’ who saved us at Cadmus, but in fact, some _puppet_ being used by them”

“Do you think that I would allow myself to be controlled by that monstrosity?” Non demanded “that I would allow them to use me as a weapon?”

“Why not?” Alura shrugged “you seemed perfectly willing to do the same to us on Krypton”

Non suddenly lunged for her, straining against his restraints as he tried to reach her, no doubt intending to strangle the life out of her. Grunting, I swiftly pinned him to the bed, bracing one arm against his throat as I struggled against the shaft of artificial red sunlight which shone down on his bed

“Enough!” I roared as I put out my other hand, holding Alex and Kara at bay “there has been enough blood spilt due to Cadmus. We don’t need to _add_ to it!”

Still snarling, Non relaxed, easing back down onto the gurney, panting harshly as Alex checked his vital signs

“Don’t you both _get it_?” I demanded “this is _exactly_ what Cadmus wants! They want us all so suspicious of Non’s return that we focus solely on that and ignore whatever they are actually planning!”

“She’s right,” Kara sighed “I don’t trust Non,” she stated “but right now we have to assume that he’s on our side. For now anyway”

“Agreed” Alex nodded

“What a surprise,” Non scoffed “the Human agrees with Astra. Oh joy”

“Do you _want_ me to kill you again?” I demanded

He chuckled

“You’re no murderer, Astra,” he proclaimed “you can’t kill in cold-blood”

“There’s always a first time!” I warned. I took a breath “right now, let’s all focus on the bomb that Cadmus has no doubt planted somewhere in the city”

“Agreed” Alura sighed

I glanced at Non

“Agreed,” he sighed “I shall tell you what I know…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“ _Entering location_ ” Alex reported as we watched on the footage from the strike team’s helmet cams

“Any sign of the bomb?” I asked over the comms.

“ _Nothing yet_ ” Alex reported

“Winn, any change?” I asked

“Nope, it’s still there” he replied, nodding to where the satellite tracking had shown the location of the bomb via the heat signature, which matched the heat signature of my own heat vision

“ _Trap One to Greyhound leader,_ ” Alex called out “ _we’ve got a problem. There’s nothing here!_ ”

“Damn it!” J’onn snarled as the footage showed nothing but an empty warehouse

“Spread out, keep—” I began

“Ma’am?” Susan looked up “we’ve got movement in the isolation lab” she announced. Leaning in over her shoulder, I scowled at the image of Non undoing the restraints holding him down and staggering off the gurney and out of the lab, swiftly disabling the two agents on guard before disappearing in a burst of superspeed

“Sound the—” J’onn

“Wait!” I held up a hand “let’s not tip him off just yet. Track him!” I ordered

“Got it!” Winn called out “uh, damn, he’s in the computer room!”

“I’ll go” I announced

“Be careful!” J’onn called out after me as I entered the elevator

“I intend to” I answered as the doors shut…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The DEO’s computer room was housed in the very depths of the base, one level up from the reactor room that powered the entire facility. Guarded 24/7, the room itself was actually quite small, consisting of cylindrical room with a six-sided terminal in the center from which the mainframe could be accessed directly.

Stepping out of the elevator, I examined the two guards now laying on the floor, relieved to find that they were alive, just unconscious. Rounding the corner, I passed what would have been a checkpoint, finding yet another unconscious guard just outside the main computer room itself.

Inside the room, at one of the terminals, stood Non, his fingers flying across the keys as various lines of code scrolled across the screens. Hunting around the terminal, Non quickly found and inserted a flash drive, no doubt downloading scores of classified information

“Some light reading material?” I called out. He stiffened then slowly turned, stepping back from the keyboard

“You know nothing of the horrors of Cadmus, Astra,” he proclaimed “what I do now, I do for you and your precious Human”

“Of course,” I smirked “how silly of me to assume that Alura was right, that you _are_ working for Cadmus”

He shook his head

“Don’t try and stop me,” he warned “I don’t want to hurt you”

“Too late” I snarled as I charged, slamming into him and pinning him one of the walls, the tungsten-carbide-reinforced concrete actually cracking and splintering from the impact.

Grunting, Non caught me under one arm and flung me back through the glass doors where I slid across the floor to hit the opposite wall. With me temporarily disabled, Non quickly retrieved the flash drive, marching out into the hall as the elevator dinged and a full strike team emerged.

Upon seeing them, Non suddenly lunged, hauling me up off the floor and easily pinning me to the low ceiling by my throat

“PUT HER DOWN!! PUT HER DOWN!!” the strike team bellowed as they opened fire. Non quickly dropped me, dodging the standard, non-kryptonite ammunition and disappearing in a burst of superspeed

“Check on her!” one agent ordered as I coughed and gagged for breath

“Agent In-ze? Ma’am? Are you all right?”

“Do I _look_ all right?” I demanded…


	5. Fond Farwells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIVE! Yep, this is going to be a short ride, folks, oh well, please enjoy it regardless :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you hurting the one you love?  
When they watched the walls and the ticking clock  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
And was it something that you could not stop

Could not stop  
Stop  
Could not stop  
Stop  
Could not stop  
Stop  
Could not stop  
Stop  
Could not stop

\--Florence + the Machine: “Are You Hurting the One You Love?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Kara and I skidded into the infirmary, both of us freezing at the sight of Astra laying on the sunbed, several cuts and scraps covering her face

“What happened?” Kara asked

“Non happened,” Lucy answered “Alura was right. It looks like he’s actually _working_ for them”

“Why in god’s name would he do that?” I wondered

“Stockholm syndrome, perhaps?” Astra weakly opened her eyes and gave me a weak, tight smile “or maybe the shock of dying and being resurrected destroyed whatever was left of his sanity”

“Well, whatever’s happened, we need to stop him,” I declared “where’s J’onn?”

“Out looking for him” Lucy explained

“I know where he is” Astra announced as she slowly, painfully, sat up

“You do?” I asked “how?”

She smirked

“I _may_ have put a tracking device on him while he had me pinned to the ceiling” she explained…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The tracking device that Astra planted on Non lead us north, up near the border with Nevada into the Serra Nevada mountains. Once we’d radioed J’onn with Non’s location he’d ordered a minimal strike team, only Kara, me, and Astra.

Landing, the three of us crept through the woods, finding an open clearing with a small Jeep waiting. Standing nearby we found Lillian Luthor, still in prison orange and Hank Henshaw playing with a knife, sharpening a stick. They both looked up as Non landed.

Marching up to them, he held out the flash drive to Lillian

“As we agreed” he stated as she took it

“Hold it right there!” I ordered as I emerged from the trees, Kara and Astra swooping in to flank me from above

“’Bout time you showed up” Henshaw sneered

“Really, Alex,” Lillian sighed “you should know better than to interrupt up people,” she mocked “after all, you never know what could happen”

Henshaw smirked, his cybernetic eye gleaming in the darkness

“Ka-boom” he chuckled just as a distant explosion rippled through the earth, a fireball lighting up the sky behind us

“Train” Kara stated simply

“Go!” Astra and I ordered as she took off. With a growl, Astra suddenly lunged for Henshaw, kicking over a tree to land on top of him, temporarily pinning him. With a roar, he managed to wriggle out from under the tree, awkwardly pick it up, and swung it at her, knocking her back into a row of trees.

“Hold her!” Lillian ordered as Non suddenly blocked my path, quickly pinning my arms to my sides even as I managed to wrench myself around so that I was in front of him now, left to watch as Henshaw and Astra fought

“You see, Alex,” Lillian chuckled “we may not have Myriad at our disposal, but we make do with what we have”

“The implant,” I realized “we didn’t take out all of it”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if you did,” Lillian shrugged “our doctors assured me that, once activated, nothing could break the conditioning. Not even his wife”

“Care to bet on that?” Non asked as he suddenly released me. His eyes lit up with a familiar red glow as he shifted and changed into J’onn “ _ **personally, I’m betting on Astra**_ ” he chuckled just as blast of heat vision suddenly sliced through the air, setting the Jeep on fire as it sliced across the ground and into Henshaw’s face, taking off most of the synthetic skin covering the left side of his upper face and head.

Bellowing in clear pain, he staggered back, which gave Astra an opening. Drawing back her fist, she soundly punched Hank across the forest. A tree in the distance suddenly crumpled, splintering as it fell.

With a grunt, Non suddenly landed next to the still-burning Jeep

“Where is she?” he demanded

We looked around, finding that Lillian had made her escape

“Gone,” I panted out as I examined Non, looking between him and Astra as J’onn shifted back into human form and a panting Kara landed nearby “you planned this” I realized

“Actually, they did,” J’onn nodded “but, yes. We figured that Cadmus might try something like this, so we figured why not beat them at their own game?”

“So, what was on that flash drive then?” Kara asked

“A recipe for chicken soup,” Astra smirked “the files all get progressively sillier from there on,” she smirked as she studied Non “you’re going after them aren’t you?” she asked softly “after Lillian”

“I am” he nodded

“Revenge?” J’onn asked

Non shrugged

“Why not?” he mused. He turned to me and offered a hand “you protected Astra,” he began “you took care of her, watched over her. And for that, I cannot thank you, Alexandra Danvers”

I took his hand and shook it

“Good luck” I told him

He smirked as he turned to Astra, reaching out and cupping her cheek

“Are you happy?” he asked

“I am,” she replied, as she took his wrist “good bye, old friend,” she whispered as she stepped back “may we meet again in better times”

Non nodded

“Goodbye, Astra” he said simply and then took off, disappearing into the night…


	6. Hacked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! The final chapter of Part Sixteen of "What we are"! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you hurting the one you love?  
So many glasses on the tabletop  
Are you hurting the one you love?  
You’d like to stay in heaven but the rules are too tough

\--Florence + the Machine: “Are You Hurting the One You Love?”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“So you planned all of it?” Kara asked later that night as we all—I, Astra, Kara, James, Lucy, and Alura—gathered around my coffee table “Non breaking out of the infirmary? Beating you up? All of it?”

“All a show for Cadmus” Astra confirmed with a nod

“But, hang on,” I began “how did you work out the plan if you knew that Cadmus might be listening in?” I asked

Astra smirked and knocked on the coffee table rhythmically

“Morse code?” I realized

“Or rather the Kryptonian equivalent,” Astra nodded “Non and I were taught it in the Military Guild”

“Yes, of course,” Alura chuckled “the grammar of Kryptonian ‘battle talk’ as it was known, was different from spoken Kryptonese. Cadmus, even if they knew Kryptonese would have trouble deciphering it”

“That’s…pretty sneaky” Kara noted, smirking

“So, where’s Non now?” James wondered “I’m surprised that J’onn let him go”

“He wasn’t agreeable at first, but Alex convinced him” Astra explained

“I did?” I asked “I don’t remember that”

Astra smirked

“Of course, you don’t, J’onn wiped your mind after we worked out the details of the plan,” she explained “we couldn’t risk any telepaths that Cadmus has in their possession reading your mind”

“And I…consented to having my mind wiped?” I asked

“You thought it up,” Astra explained “the same with Lucy”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Lucy exclaimed “what now?” she turned to look at Alura, who blushed

“I’m sorry, darling,” she apologized “but it’s true”

“Geez,” Lucy groaned “warn a girl next time, huh?” she muttered as my cell phone buzzed

“Text from Winn,” I read “emergency at the DEO”

“Mine too” Astra nodded

“Same here” Kara confirmed as Lucy held up her phone, the screen displaying the same message

**911 hurry**

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Flying into the DEO, Astra, Kara, Lucy, and I found chaos. Alarms were screaming as technicians rushed back and forth from computer to computer, the main monitors filled with static as J’onn and Winn tried to restore order

“What happened?” I demanded

“The thing,” Winn exclaimed “the thing you took out of Non’s brain, it…reactivated, whatever you want to call it. It somehow wirelessly hacked into our systems and downloaded a huge chunk of data before it self-destructed”

“What did it take?” I wondered

“We’re still determining,” J’onn explained, snarling in annoyance “damn it, I knew I should have had you destroy that thing the minute we took it out”

“Hey, you couldn’t have known” I reminded him

“Oh crap,” Winn suddenly swore. He turned to us, looking haunted “I know what Cadmus downloaded” he announced

“What?” Kara asked “what was it?”

Winn swallowed, looking pale

“The National Alien Registry” he explained

“Oh my god,” I breathed “if they can decrypt that…”

“…then they’ll know the location of every single alien on the planet” J’onn finished grimly…

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


End file.
